Flexport settings and gotchas
Lesson 22 of 28 5 min read
Configure the Flexport order import window, default currency and location, and tag generation from Flexport order data.
Flexport's settings answer four questions: which orders to import and when, what currency and location they get, how to classify them with tags, and where stock belongs.
Decision 1: which orders, and when?
| setupDate | Only orders created on or after this date are imported. Set automatically when the integration is first configured. |
|---|---|
| lastImportDate | Managed by the system; each run fetches orders changed since the last import. |
| importDelay | A wait before an order is imported, such as 00:05:00. Useful when other Flexport apps, such as a 3PL, fulfilment app or pricing engine, need time to update the order first. |
Give other apps time
If another app adjusts Flexport orders after they are created (prices, for example), a short import delay stops Supply Lens importing the order before that change lands.
Decision 2: currency and location
| defaultCurrencyId | The currency applied when a Flexport order does not specify one, so every imported order has a currency. |
|---|---|
| defaultFulfillmentLocationId | The fulfilment location assigned to all imported Flexport orders. |
One location for every order
defaultFulfillmentLocationId is assigned to all imported Flexport orders. If a customer
uses several Flexport sites and needs orders split by site, raise it with Supply Lens rather
than assuming it can be done with this setting.
Decision 3: classify orders with tags
| documentLevelTagGeneration | Rules that create tags on the imported document from Flexport order fields. Each rule has a key, a path to the source field and an optional source controlling how values are extracted. |
|---|---|
| documentLevelAdvancedTagGeneration | A more powerful version supporting JSON Path and JSON Pointer expressions, for values deep inside nested data. |
JSON Path and JSON Pointer are two ways of writing the address of a value inside structured data. Use the advanced version when the field you need is nested several levels down.
Tags created here can drive later steps, such as the tag-driven rules you met in the first module on the system the order goes to next.
Decision 4: where does stock belong?
| defaultFulfillmentLocationId (Inventory) | The Supply Lens fulfilment location the Flexport stock is assigned to. |
|---|
Lumen Lighting's settings
defaultCurrencyId: USD, because some Flexport orders arrive without a currency.defaultFulfillmentLocationId: the "Flexport US" Location, on both groups.importDelay: five minutes, because a pricing app updates orders after creation.documentLevelTagGeneration: one rule creating a sales channel tag from the order's channel field, so the ERP can report US sales by channel.
Recap
- The order import window is setupDate, lastImportDate and importDelay; use the delay when other apps update orders first.
- defaultCurrencyId fills in missing currencies; defaultFulfillmentLocationId applies to every imported order.
- Tag generation, simple or advanced, classifies imported orders.
- Inventory is assigned to its own defaultFulfillmentLocationId.
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